6 bold and beautiful ways to use bright colours in the home, according to an interior designer

DIY and design expert Julia Kendell shares her tips on how to inject bright colours into the home whilst sticking to your overall theme and mood.

Using bright colours anywhere in the house can be an intimidating task. Whilst you want to draw the eye and add a point of interest and fun, it can be hard to know what colour, where to put it and whether the end result will remain in-keeping with your home's overall feel.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

"When injecting colour into the home I tend to look externally for inspiration, this helps me find focus and allows me to work out how the look will come together," explains Julia, who, alongside Homebase, has launched the Colour Confidence campaign to encourage Brits to pick up a paint brush and stop being colour-shy.

Here, Julia shares her advice on how we can inject colour into every room of the house without it looking over the top...

Most Popular

1. The living room

"For the living room, I took inspiration from the colours featured in the Greek Islands to inject sunshine into the room. This works exceptionally well in a naturally light room, where the colours will really sing.

"To translate the inspiration into reality, use a white backdrop to allow the bright colours to pop. Balancing this with reflective surfaces will emulate the tones and feeling of the Mediterranean while also ensuring a spacious feel within the room.

Julia Kendell

"Adding a few plants in terracotta pots will produce an uplifting 'outdoor' vibe in the room while also adding extra colour. When using bold colours, I try and use them sparingly as an entirely bright green wall can be overwhelming but used on a well-placed panel contrasted by the stark white wall can give a modern and vibrant feel to the room."

Julia Kendell

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

2. The bedroom

"A bedroom should be warm and relaxing and therefore I wanted to create a fresh colour palette to embody spring and emulate a welcoming environment. Taking inspiration from a scrumptious image of pastel macaroons, I integrated these into the room by using predominantly light aqua tones. The room is balanced out by the use of off white, dull-mauve, light taupe and warm cream in equal amounts.

Julia Kendell

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

"Utilising a few focal colours in small quantities of soft pastel pink and deep raspberry created the final palette without being too overbearing. A hand-painted dressing table and curtains will allow for a stunningly vintage feel and painting the floorboards white makes the room feel larger and more inviting. Wallpaper will enhance the luxurious feel of a room.

"If you don't want to commit to a full room with printed wallpaper, opt for a statement wall to enhance the room further. The end result will lead to a beautiful room that feels spacious and luxurious – a dream bedroom!"

Julia Kendell

Most Popular

3. The bathroom

"There is something about bathrooms that are always made to feel clinical, the thought that because it's a bathroom means everything has to be white is a perception I would like to get rid of.

Julia Kendell

"For this one I found a rather unusual inspiration stemming from a bowl of ice-cream with a mint leaf resting on top. The warm cream tone softened the clinical white of the bowl, creating a fresh and relaxed image. This is a feeling I wanted to emulate in a bathroom, as white can be impersonal but an overbearingly colourful bathroom quickly looks cluttered.

"By using neutral tones for the wall tiles, flooring, wall colour and sanitary ware, you can balance these with a pop of colours in the accessories and shower wall. I introduced zingy kiwi and dark green colours to create a fresh and airy bathroom with a pop of personality."

Julia Kendell

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

4. The dining room

"When it comes to the dining room I think it is important to use rich darker colours and having taken inspiration from the stunning dark hues contrasted with the tones within the sand of a stormy day out at the beach, I wanted to capture the different shades of blue using the mysterious tones of the deepest blue-black and a warm peachy hue. By applying this to a dining room, the overall effect has a strong energy with the tonal blues used to create a gradient or 'ombre' wall.

Julia Kendell

"Neutral shades of grey and taupe are introduced in the rug and sheepskin, while accessories have been chosen with a coastal feel in mind, incorporating materials like driftwood and natural textures. The resulting room provides a harmonious and exciting space to entertain."

Julia Kendell

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

5. The hallway

"A hallway can be the most overlooked part of the home but in my opinion it is the most important area and should exude style and colour. First impressions count and your hallway is the gateway to the rest of the house and your guests first impression. I therefore took inspiration from peacock colours and the jewelled tones of spools of thread combined to create a stunning mix of vibrant shades. Translating this to an interior hallway scheme produces a rich, luxurious look and an elegant welcome, particularly successful in a naturally dark hallway.

Julia Kendell

Most Popular

"To achieve this look at home, opt for deep, rich hues for the walls – think dark emerald green – paint the skirting to match and use flooring of equally intense colouring. The console table has been painted to ensure the colour palette is well rounded. Add in lustrous velvets and glimmering metallic in accessories to produce a similar, dazzling end result."

Julia Kendell

6. The conservatory

"For the conservatory, I took inspiration from a turquoise and red Betta fish which beautifully illustrates just how successful contrasting colour combinations can be in nature. By using the same shades in similar proportions in your home, you're guaranteed to create as much energy and vibrancy.

Julia Kendell

"Choose reds and oranges in soft textures to mimic the delicate fins, a sea of turquoise for the walls and matt black to ground the scheme. Bringing the outdoor screen indoors is perfect for a conservatory - it links the house and garden and casts stunning shadows as the sunlight moves around the room."